Former Boise State safety Darian Thompson has tough day at combine

Former Boise State safety Darian Thompson eyes the ball as he makes a catch during on-field drills Monday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Associated Press

Former Boise State safety Darian Thompson eyes the ball as he makes a catch during on-field drills Monday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Associated Press

Former Boise State safety Darian Thompson rose up NFL mock draft boards because of his play in games and his strong Senior Bowl showing. His day at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Monday may not have a big negative impact, but it didn’t help much.

Thompson ran a 4.69-second time in the 40-yard dash, 13th out of the 16 safeties that ran. His broad jump of 118 inches also was 13th, and tied for 13th out of 15 with his 32.5-inch vertical leap. He’ll likely have another chance to improve those numbers at Boise State’s pro day March 31. The prospects also run on-field drills, which gave Thompson to show his ball skills, though no grades for those are released publicly.

Ron Slavin, Thompson’s agent, said he fought a stomach bug this weekend, partially explaining why he weighed in at 208 pounds, down from his 215 pounds at the Senior Bowl in January. Slavin said Thompson will run the 40-yard dash, re-do the bench press (his 12 reps at 225 pounds Sunday were third-fewest), and do position drills at pro day.

His time in the 40 was surprising to many, and the list of safeties who have ran that time or worse isn’t pretty, though some have been plenty successful, including Idaho’s Shiloh Keo (4.74), who just won a Super Bowl with Denver.

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